The Selma Story
3/15/1965
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This newsreel reports on the impact of "Bloody Sunday," March 7, 1965, when marchers tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, just outside of Selma, Alabama, on their way to Montgomery Alabama, in demonstration for voter registration.
It was a defining moment in the modern civil rights movement. Televised footage of the brutal attack on demonstrators by Alabama State Troopers and a mob of citizens dramatically shifted much of public opinion in favor of the protesters. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had also witnessed coverage of the events of Bloody Sunday, publicly backed their cause.
On "Turnaround Tuesday," two days later, Dr. Martin Luther King led several thousand protesters to the bridge again. During this peaceful march, the protesters stopped, prayed, and then turned around.
This section of the 1965 MCA/Universal Pictures newsreel is called "President Seeks End to Civil Strife." The other segments are "Dutch Princess to Wed Commoner" and "Constance Bennett Back in Movies."
It was a defining moment in the modern civil rights movement. Televised footage of the brutal attack on demonstrators by Alabama State Troopers and a mob of citizens dramatically shifted much of public opinion in favor of the protesters. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had also witnessed coverage of the events of Bloody Sunday, publicly backed their cause.
On "Turnaround Tuesday," two days later, Dr. Martin Luther King led several thousand protesters to the bridge again. During this peaceful march, the protesters stopped, prayed, and then turned around.
This section of the 1965 MCA/Universal Pictures newsreel is called "President Seeks End to Civil Strife." The other segments are "Dutch Princess to Wed Commoner" and "Constance Bennett Back in Movies."
This primary source comes from the Collection UN: MCA/Universal Pictures Collection.
National Archives Identifier: 234274905
Full Citation: Motion Picture 200-UN-38-22; The Selma Story; 3/15/1965; Motion Picture Releases of the Universal Newsreel Library, 1929 - 1967; Collection UN: MCA/Universal Pictures Collection; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/selma-story, April 29, 2025]Activities that use this document
- The Impact of Bloody Sunday in Selma
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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